How they got here: L.A. City Section Division I champion Westchester beat Colony, 77-42, in the first round, Santa Monica, 73-64, in the quarterfinals and Long Beach Poly, 67-53, in the semifinals. CIF-SS Division I-AA champion Mater Dei beat Buchanan, 90-65, in the first round, Rancho Verde, 88-48, in the quarterfinals and Taft, 75-73, in the semifinals.

Outlook: Let the hyperbole begin for this ultimate matchup of California basketball powerhouses. This is the Ali-Frazier, Magic-Bird, Agassi-Sampras kind of showdown that California basketball fans have been yearning for over the years to answer the question of L.A. City Section vs. Southern Section basketball supremacy. These programs have combined for 12 state titles, 16 Regional titles and 31 sectional titles. Westchester coach Ed Azzam is hoping to finally break though against Mater Dei. Azzam is 0-8 against Mater Dei since Gary McKnight took over the Monarchs in 1982. The most recent matchup was a 91-89, double-overtime victory for Mater Dei in the 2006 Nike Extravaganza. Mater Dei has won 11 regional championships, including six this decade. Westchester has won five regional finals – 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2009. Expect a wide-open, high-flying matchup. Mater Dei has three Pac-10-bound studs in Tyler Lamb (UCLA), Keala King (Arizona State) and Gary Franklin Jr. (California) and likes to push the pace, which suits Westchester just fine. Westchester’s Dwayne Polee has established himself as a go-to scorer in the playoffs, averaging 19 points per game in the regionals. Jordin Mayes is contributing 17.3 points per game in the regionals. Kareem Jamar has also been steady at 12 points per game in the regionals. Denzel Douglas averages 6.7 points per game and is a defensive stopper who will be a difference maker against Mater Dei. Reggie Murphy could be the wild card in the mix. He’s averaging 6.3 points per game, but when he owns the paint, Westchester normally controls the game.

Division III

No. 1 Serra (32-2) vs. No. 3 Centennial (28-6)

Today, noon, at USC’s Galen Center

How they got here: Serra, the CIF-SS Division III-A champion, had a first-round bye, then beat Ridgeview, 56-46, in the quarterfinals and Ocean View, 50-45, in the semifinals. Centennial, the CIF-SS Division III-A runner-up, beat El Camino, 69-57, in the first round, Orange Lutheran, 75-69, in the quarterfinals and Gahr, 83-77, in the semifinals.

Outlook: Serra is now one win away from advancing to the state final, following in the footsteps of its CIF and state champion football team. Serra won its only other regional final appearance in 1993. Centennial is 2-0 in regional finals, including titles in 2002 and 2004. Serra has beaten Centennial twice this season – 68-59 in the Ocean View Tournament on Dec. 10 and 62-58 in the CIF Southern Section Division III-AA final at the Honda Center on March 6. Vaughn Autry has scored a combined 40 points in the two wins over Centennial while Keith Shamburger has combined for 37 points in the two wins. Marqis Lee has been a steady contributor for Serra, and he even missed the first Centennial game because he was still in football. Serra must contend with high-scoring Deonte Burton, Kevin Smith and Harrison Hawkins. Burton is coming off a 34-point effort against Gahr in the regional semifinals and has scored a combined 30 points against Serra. Smith, the school’s quarterback, seems to do well against Serra with 15 points in the first game and a 23-point, 15-rebound effort in the second game.

GIRLS

Division III

No. 3 Inglewood (29-5) vs. Bishop Amat (26-7)

Today, 10 a.m., at USC’s Galen Center

How they got here: Inglewood, the CIF-SS Division III-AA champion, beat Tulare, 70-19, in the first round, Muir, 46-41, in the quarterfinals and Mt. Miguel, 85-60, in the semifinals. Bishop Amat, a CIF-SS Division III-AA semifinalist, beat Academy of Our Lady of Peace, 72-57, in the first round, Agoura, 70-61, in the quarterfinals and Santa Margarita, 58-48, in the semifinals.

Outlook: Defending regional champion Inglewood is making just its second regional appearance. Inglewood beat Bishop Amat, 63-48, in the CIF Southern Section Division III-AA semifinals on Feb. 27, but Inglewood coach Tony Scott said he is not underestimating Bishop Amat coach Richard Wiard, who won four straight regional appearances from 2004-07. Nevada-bound Arielle Wideman is the force behind Bishop Amat’s surprising regional run, but the Lancers will need a big performance from forward Leticia Galarza to pull off this victory. Reigning Daily Breeze Player of the Year Hazel Ramirez continues to lead Inglewood with 12.5 points, 5.1 assists and 3.8 steals. DeAjanae Scurry is coming off a 35-point, 15-rebound performance against Mt. Miguel and averages 10.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Noelini Touisoa (9.4 ppg) and freshman Keyla Morgan (7.9 ppg) are also threats for Inglewood.

Division IV

No. 3 Bishop Montgomery (29-7) vs. No. 1 Harvard-Westlake (32-1)

Today, 5 p.m., at Colony High in Ontario

How they got here: Bishop Montgomery, the CIF-SS Division IV-AA runner-up, beat Oaks Christian, 79-60, in the first round, The Bishop’s School, 69-65, in the quarterfinals and La Jolla Country Day, 61-54, in the semifinals.

Outlook: Bishop Montgomery has won seven of its eight Regional final appearances while Harvard-Westlake has split its previous two appearances. This is Bishop Montgomery’s second shot at Harvard-Westlake this season. Bishop Montgomery lost to Harvard-Westlake, 58-54, in the CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA final on March 6 at the Pyramid, but built a 12-point first-half lead. Princeton-bound Nicole Hung and point guard Nicole Nesbitt are top-tier players who rallied Harvard-Westlake in the final. Devon Brookshire is averaging 19.3 points in three regional games for Bishop Montgomery. Chelsey Aaron is averaging 16 points in the regionals, but foul trouble hampered her in the first Harvard-Westlake game. Clutch-shooting Kristen Ale is contributing 14.7 points in the regionals.

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.